A government crackdown in Zimbabwe after Monday’s elections has prompted international calls for restraint.
The UN and former colonial power, the UK, both expressed concern about the violence, in which three people were killed after troops opened fire.
Parliamentary results gave victory to the ruling Zanu-PF party in the first vote since the removal of former ruler Robert Mugabe.
But the opposition says Zanu-PF rigged the election.
The result of the presidential election has yet to be declared.
The MDC opposition alliance insists its candidate, Nelson Chamisa, beat the incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres urged Zimbabwe’s politicians to exercise restraint, while UK foreign office minister, Harriett Baldwin, said she was “deeply concerned” by the violence.
The US embassy in Harare on Twitter urged the army to “use restraint,” saying the country had an “historic opportunity” for a brighter future.
Human rights group Amnesty International meanwhile called on the government to open a probe into the army’s actions.
Amnesty’s Acting Secretary General, Colm O Cuanachain, said in a press release that the “militarisation” of the election aftermath was “muzzling freedom of expression, association and assembly.”
“People must be guaranteed their right to protest,” he said.
The country’s electoral commission said that Zanu-PF had won a two-thirds majority in parliament – prompting protests in the capital, Harare.
Home Affairs Minister Obert Mpofu said the government would not tolerate the protests.
The opposition “are testing our resolve,” he said, “and I think they are making a big mistake.”
A spokesman for Mr. Chamisa condemned the deployment of soldiers and the subsequent loss of life.
“Soldiers are trained to kill during war. Are civilians enemies of the state?” He asked.
“There is no explanation whatsoever for the brutality that we saw today.”
The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) has so far announced victory in 140 seats for Zanu-PF, with 58 for the MDC Alliance, ZBC state media reported.
There are 210 seats in the National Assembly’s lower house.
More than five million people were registered to vote, and there was a turnout of 70%.
ZBC had reported that the electoral commission would announce the presidential results at 12:30 local time (10:30 GMT) on Wednesday, but only parliamentary results were read out.
Reports said that the announcement on the presidential poll was not made because representatives of some of the 23 candidates had failed to turn up to verify the results.
A presidential candidate needs more than 50% of the vote to win outright, otherwise, a run-off election will be held on 8 September.
The EU mission criticised the delay in announcing the presidential results.
ZEC has until Saturday to do so.
It said it had observed several problems, including media bias, voter intimidation and mistrust in the electoral commission, adding that there was an “improved political climate, but un-level playing field and lack of trust.”
The African Union mission has said the elections “took place in a very peaceful environment” and “were highly competitive.”
It added that it could not confirm opposition parties’ complaints of vote-buying, intimidation by the state and bias by traditional leaders.
A preliminary report by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) observers said the elections were largely peaceful and conducted in accordance with the law.
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Andrew Brunson: US hits Turkey with sanctions over jailed pastor
The US has imposed sanctions on Turkey’s justice and interior ministers over the continued detention of American pastor, Andrew Brunson.
The evangelical from North Carolina has been held for nearly two years over alleged links to political groups.
“We believe he’s a victim of unfair and unjust detention,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said.
Turkey has said US demands for Mr. Brunson’s release are “unacceptable,” adding it will respond to “hostility.”
“We call on the US administration to row back from this wrong decision,” the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Without delay, there will be a response to this aggressive attitude that will not serve any purpose,” it continued.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Ms. Sanders said: “We’ve seen no evidence that Pastor Brunson has done anything wrong.”
She added that the two Turkish ministers had both played “leading roles” in the arrest of the US pastor.
“As a result, any property or interest in property of both ministers within US jurisdiction is blocked and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them,” she said.
Ms. Sanders also said that President Trump had discussed the matter with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, “multiple times.”
The US treasury department later said in a statement that Turkey’s Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu were targeted because they “serve as leaders of Turkish government organisations responsible for implementing Turkey’s serious human rights abuses.”
Last week, President Trump warned Turkey it would face “large sanctions” if it did not release Mr. Brunson immediately.
Following Wednesday’s announcement, the Turkish lira lost 1.6% of its value to fall to 5.0 against the US dollar.
Mr. Brunson is a long-term resident in Turkey.
He lived with his wife and three children while working as the pastor of the small Izmir Resurrection Church, which had a congregation of about two dozen.
The authorities accuse him of having links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Gulenist movement, which Turkey blames for a 2016 failed coup.
Mr. Brunson has denied charges of espionage, but faces up to 35 years in jail if found guilty.
Mr. Brunson is one of 20 Americans who were charged after the coup two years ago, according to the New York Times.
More than 50,000 people were arrested in Turkey in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s huge post-coup crackdown.
He blames Pennsylvania-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen for the attempt, but Mr. Gulen denies any involvement.
Turkey wants the US to agree to his extradition.
President Erdogan has indicated he would swap the pastor for “the priest” (Mr. Gulen).
US support for Kurdish forces fighting the Syrian civil war has also angered President Erdogan, who views them as an extension of the PKK.
The PKK – a Turkish-Kurdish rebel group fighting for autonomy since the 1980s – is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and the US.
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Illinois lawmaker Nick Sauer quits after ‘catfishing’ claim
An Illinois state representative has resigned following allegations he used photos of his ex-girlfriend to “catfish other men.”
Republican Nick Sauer allegedly used the photos on a fake Instagram account to lure men into “graphic conversations of a sexual nature.”
His former girlfriend Kate Kelly made the allegations in a formal complaint.
Catfishing refers to creating fake personas to trick others into bogus online conversations.
Mr. Sauer said in a statement his duties would be affected “by the distraction of addressing these allegations.”
“After speaking with my family, I feel it best to step away from my public responsibilities,” the first term lawmaker said.
Illinois house Republican leader Jim Durkin called the allegations “troubling,” saying the “proper authorities” should be allowed to investigate.
Publishing private sexual images without consent is a crime in the state of Illinois.
Ms. Kelly filed the complaint with the Office of the Legislative Inspector General on Wednesday, according to reports on US news website Politico.
The article says that Ms. Kelly has also filed a report with the Chicago Police Department.
Speaking to the website, Ms. Kelly said she and Mr. Sauer, both unmarried, met on the dating app Tinder in 2016 but broke up earlier this year when she discovered he had been seeing other women.
In July, a man allegedly contacted Ms. Kelly on her Instagram account saying he had been speaking to a person for the past four months pretending to be her.
Ms. Kelly’s complaint says Mr. Sauer later “came to my house and confessed to catfishing men with my photos.”
Catfishing is when people create fake online personas to trick or bully others.
The fraudster can try to scam others into romantic or sexual relationships
Mr. Sauer represented Illinois’ 51st district, and was a member of the House Sexual Discrimination and Harassment Task Force.
Earlier this year, Missouri Governor Eric Greitens resigned after claims he photographed a naked woman without her consent.
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Australia senator sues opponent over ‘sexist slurs’
Australian senator Sarah Hanson-Young has filed a lawsuit against a political opponent who made “sexist slurs” towards her.
The Greens senator, 36, is the first Australian sitting politician to sue another for defamation.
She alleges Senator David Leyonhjelm made “defamatory statements” about her personal life in parliament and in the Australian media.
Mr. Leyonhjelm, 66, has said he will strenuously defend himself.
The Liberal Democrat senator was widely criticised in June after he told Ms Hanson-Young to “stop shagging men” during a debate in the Senate about curbing violence against women.
After Ms. Hanson-Young spoke out about the remarks, he repeated similar comments in television and radio interviews.
Ms. Hanson-Young said Mr. Leyonhjelm’s comments were an attack on her character and had caused considerable harm to her family.
“I’m calling this out because it is wrong,” she said in a statement on Thursday.
“No woman, whether she be working behind a bar, in an office or in the Parliament, deserves to be treated this way, and it needs to stop.”
The feud between the two senators has prompted renewed public discussion about sexism in Australian politics.
Women make up less than third of parliament.
Lawyers for Ms. Hanson-Young filed proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia on Wednesday.
The senator said she would have preferred an apology rather than legal action.
Mr. Leyonhjelm has consistently refused to apologise, despite calls to do so from other politicians including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
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He has said his comments in the Senate were in response to Ms. Hanson-Young saying “words to the effect that all men are rapists.”
Ms. Hanson-Young has strongly denied making any such statement.
Both senators have had online fundraisers set up for them by members of the public to help pay legal fees.
The Greens senator has pledged to donate any damages she wins to women’s charities.
